1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a binding apparatus for releasably securing a pair of boots for a skier on a snow sliding board, such as a snowboard or a monoski.
2. Description of Background and Other Information
The practice of snow surfing, or snowboarding, in which the skier uses a single board having an upwardly curved front end, has developed rapidly in recent few years. In practicing this sport, the skier positions himself or herself transversely with respect to the longitudinal axis of the board. It is known to furnish the board with a binding apparatus for the skier's two boots, in order to maintain the rear foot (right or left according to the stance of the skier) and the front foot (left or right) at inclined positions in relation to the longitudinal axis of the board, in a manner that the two feet of the skier are either parallel or divergent in relation to each other.
Such a binding apparatus is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,652,007. This binding apparatus includes means for permitting a triggered release in case of a fall, which results in a biasing of the legs of the skier which is susceptible of provoking an accident. The apparatus described in the above-cited patent includes two binding assemblies, associated respectively with the front and rear boots, and in which the two binding assemblies are linked by an intermediate element in such a way that the release of one of the binding assemblies, which otherwise ensures the retention of a boot, facilitates the release of the other boot.
In such an apparatus, each binding assembly comprises two releasable bindings which are presently known and used for the practice of alpine skiing. Further, each of the binding assemblies are aligned along the longitudinal axis of the snowboard and cooperate with two opposite parts, which are aligned in the longitudinal direction of the board, and which are part of a plate supporting a ski boot. One of the binding assemblies, located on one side of the boot-supporting plate, is a front abutment with a jaw maintaining the front end of an alpine ski boot, while the other binding assembly, which is located on the other side of the boot-supporting plate, is a heel abutment, normally maintaining the heel of a boot on an alpine ski.
However, the alpine ski bindings used in this known apparatus are not, in fact, adapted to the practice of snowboarding, during which the biases exerted by the boots on the bindings are different from those exerted during the practice of alpine skiing.
Further, in the binding apparatus according to U.S. Pat. No. 4,652,007, the front and rear boot-supporting plates are constructed differently. In fact, the support area for the rear boot on the rear support plate extends perpendicularly to the axis of the two lateral parts of the plate maintained by the two release bindings placed on both sides of the boot-supporting plate, while the support area of the front boot on the front support plate is inclined towards the front in relation to the two lateral parts, ensuring the linkage with the two opposite release bindings. In other words, the rear boot-supporting plate has approximately a cross shape (+), while the front boot-supporting plate has the shape of an X. Because of this, the positions of the boots and, particularly, that of the front boot, are predetermined on the ski. However, this constitutes an inconvenience to the extent that each skier can prefer to have his or her front boot more or less inclined in relation to his or her rear boot. Further, such a binding apparatus is, due to its construction, relatively heavy and complex and, consequently, onerous to manufacture.